Isabella
The knock still echoed faintly through my room long after the door had closed behind my father.
For a few precious minutes, I'd been happier than I could remember ever feeling. My wolf had spoken to me. She was weak, barely more than a whisper, but she was here.
Then I'd looked into my father's face, and I'd known something was wrong.
He still held my hand, his thumb absently brushing across my knuckles while he searched for the right words. Whatever he wanted to tell me wasn't easy.
"Dad?" I asked again, more quietly this time. "You're starting to scare me."
"Bella..." His eyes met mine as he drew a slow breath. "William found the territory."
Every muscle in my body stilled and the words settled over the room, heavy but strangely... not devastating.
William had found the
